The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Lynch facing off against Klammer in November for Court of Appeals
Eleventh District Court of Appeals Judge Colleen Mary O’Toole lost her bid for reelection May 8 to attorney Matt Lynch, her challenger in the Republican primary.
Lynch, a 66-year-old Bainbridge Township resident, will now face Democrat Darya Klammer in the November general election.
The appellate court reviews lower courts’ cases for errors in the law in Lake, Geauga, Ashtabula, Portage and Trumbull counties. Lynch was the winner in all five counties — 30,907 total votes to O’Toole’s 23,927 votes, according to unofficial final results from the counties’ respective Board of Elections.
In Lake County, Lynch earned 9,878 votes vs. O’Toole’s 7,324 votes. In Geauga County, he won 6,565 votes vs. her 4,953 votes.
He had 3,806 votes to O’Toole’s 2,782 in Ashtabula County. In Portage County, he earned 5,491 votes vs. her 3,999 (42.14 percent).
In Trumbull County, Lynch won 5,167 votes, while O’Toole had 4,869.
Lynch has been practicing law for 30 years. He previously served as a Bainbridge Township trustee from 2008 to 2011. From 2012 to 2014, he was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, representing the 76th District.
Meanwhile, Klammer, a 48-year-old Concord Township resident, made history as the first successful writein candidate in the court’s history.
Klammer needed just 50 votes to appear on the ballot in November as an official candidate. She received 4,182 votes overall.
“This is all so exciting,” she said. “It means the world to me knowing that voters had to take some extra steps to be sure to write me in.”
Klammer is a past president of the Lake County Bar Association and a longtime Mentor Municipal Court magistrate.
The six-year term begins Feb. 9.
Lynch, a 66-yearold Bainbridge Township resident, will now face Democrat Darya Klammer in the November general election.